Strain of Duty
by BloodReckoning
Summary: Kagome's life seems to like toying with her. As it turns out she's got more than just a job as a priestess in her Destiny.After the final battle she has to travel to Ipswich to carry out her ancestors instructions to unlocking her true power.INUxCOVEN Xov


_**Strain of Duty**_

_BloodReckoning_

_**Chapter one: **_

_**My life is at the Mercy of Fate and Truth.**_

I want to start off my story by saying that I could finally have a peaceful life after all. But of course, that's only how I want to say it. This however, can't be said for me, reason being the fact that Fate seems to have fun using me for it's personal amusement. Along with Fate, the little bitch called Truth seems to pop up here and there and strike me a new one. Apparently, even I can't say who I am or who I'm not.

On the contrary my troubles with that damned pink jewel are finally over. Yeah, and it didn't really end how I'd expected it to either. Well, I had eventually gotten at least more than half of the jewel complete, and of course Naraku had the rest. Before we could head straight forward into battle like Inuyasha had wanted, I suggested we gain more allies before we headed to our possible death. Of course, he yelled at me calling me a stupid Wench among others, but, after traveling with Inuyasha for so long, I had learned to ignore it, just as I had learned to ignore the obvious one-sided love I was getting myself into.

Anyway, well after he saw that his yelling wasn't going anywhere, Inuyasha caved into my plan and grudgingly admitted that we would need some sort of backup. But, it went downhill fast when I mentioned that we might need his brother's help. This started another round of yelling, growling, cursing, and when all of that didn't work, whining. Yes, it's had to believe, but Inuyasha whined for me not to get his brother. I could promise you that I glared at him so much if looks could kill, he'd have been dead twenty or so over. He sucked it up and, we, although, having to deal with almost crying Inuyasha, went in search of Sesshomaru.

First off, if you thought Inuyasha was a prick, then obviously you haven't met Sesshomaru. He's so much of a prick that I just wanted to rip him a new one. Although that plan might have ended me in getting myself killed, and possibly brought back to clean up the mess. Anywhoo, while we were on our way to find the Ice Prince, we happened to come across a group of bandits who had somehow captured poor little Rin, possibly because she wondered off like she usually did.

By, that time, I was already on wits end because of Inuyasha nagging all the time, and I was really pissed off because I had started getting a headache from all the stress. Well, let's just say bandits will now always think twice before they anger the wrong woman. I really don't want to go into details on how though.

Ok, so after we rescued Rin, We now had a way to convince Sesshomaru to join our cause, you know like a sick twisted sort of blackmail. Although, I enjoyed Rin's company over the rest of the gang, except for Shippo, and Kilala, and of course Sango. The rest of the group just got in my nerves. Well, back to the subject, We finally found that could hearted bastard and gave Rin back to him, and all he had to say was 'Rin you reek of impudent half-breeds please go bathe yourself.' Ooh, I was seething before things even got good. Gah, I'm not good with details so long story short, we eventually got Sesshomaru to join our group.

Over the span of a couple weeks we had also recruited Kouga and his wolves, (which was fairly easy), Ayame and he wolves, (which was a pain in the ass) and some other demons who straight up were either tired of the war, or just plain hated Naraku. Two of said Demons happened to be Kagura, and Kanna. Although, for the most part, they were acting as spies so they weren't with our group technically, but they were with us, in actuality. Don't ask me why, something about having their hearts or something.

Anyway, thanks to my awesome skills, and persuasion, I made a deal with Sesshomaru, stating that if he trained me ( and didn't fight with Inuyasha), I would train Rin in the ways of a lady since she had no motherly figure. This wasn't easy at first for the pompous demon to accept but the thought of an unlady-like Rin had him agreeing begrudgingly, although he couldn't promise not to fight with Inuyasha. What could I say, I really sucked at combat, and I needed the training. It also helped, that Miroku helped me with spiritual training on the side. The hard part to this was, getting myself to combine the two forms of fighting to fit me best. Let me say, that getting burned with holy magic because you weren't paying attention, and concentrating on wielding your blade steady wasn't an easy accomplishment if you had to do it at the same time. I fell a lot, stabbed myself a lot, had to heal myself a lot which was hard since I barely knew how at the time, and I burned myself a lot. Not to mention, Sesshomaru didn't go easy on your daily training either. I had to do so many push ups, curl-ups, whatever 'ups' you can think that every cell on my body burned or bled by the time I went to sleep. After that, I had to run for so long, while having weights attached to each of my limbs. I can't even say how many clothes I last during all of this. I had to learn how to make clothes fast, and I also had to learn how to fix them ( oh, wasn't that a joy). Even though all of this seems extreme, in the end all of it paid off as my spiritual reserves increased as well as my muscles and endurance, although you couldn't tell how strong I was by looking at me. After I had fully mastered whatever Miroku had to teach me about spiritual power, which was_a lot_ and required _a lot _of spiritual energy and awareness (using sutras, sealing, binding, shields of energy, barriers of energy, energy weapons, healing, reading of auras, hiding my aura and power signal, meditation, reading the emotions through acts/body signs, and also all the prayers/chants/incantations/symbols that there was in the spiritual world), I concentrated fully on perfecting Sesshomaru's training, which finally involved, channeling power into my weapons, learning different no-weapon fighting styles, parts of the body (so I could know where to strike to knock someone out, and might I add that I was a practice dummy for Sesshomaru a couple of times), and finally how to hold my own against the master himself. Yeah, I know, I'm not as powerful as Sesshomaru, but I'm damn well near. Oh yeah! Let's not forget that before I could go to bed every night, I had to teach Rin how to behave like a lady, which was also really hard seeing as she was as far from ladylike as you could get. I had to teach her how to eat, cook, manners, how to sit when at a formal event, how to be polite, how to talk correctly (not in the third person, THANK GOD!) how to fix her hair and clothes, and all other kinds of tortuous lady stuff I drug out from the back of my mind. Let's face it I was also as far from ladylike as I could get, but at least I still knew how to be when I wanted to. Miraculously we managed to do all of this before Naraku found us. I guess we just got lucky.

But, By the time we did finish however, we had only a day before Naraku had finally cornered us. By that time, I was so glad I had trained because I was his main target seeing as the jewel was just a big help, as it was like a big sign that said 'Hey, Evil-Ass-Dude, I got what your looking for, why don't you and I have a run under the sun.' Because not even thirty minutes into the fight, he had everyone but me ( and Shippo and Rin who were protected behind me and Miroku's barrier). Sango had Kohaku, which she wasn't too happy about. Inuyasha and Sesshomaru were busy with Hakudoshi, and Miroku was up against some random bat demon. It was just me and Naraku, face to face.

Before we get down to the gruesome details, let me ask you a question. Have you ever cheated death so many times that all at once you feel like you've run out of chances? I could tell you that I was feeling a lot of that, that day. I stared a Naraku with cold icy hate, and he looked at me like I was a rare delicacy. Our staring match continued over the span of at least a half second before tentacles shot out from beneath his clothes, tiny bits of fake flesh shooting out as the slimy purple extensions shot forward to wrap around my body, but I was having none of that. I gripped onto a sword (which I and stolen from my training) and sliced down upon them, before dodging out of the way. He growled at me before releasing a thick blanket of miasma from beneath the tentacles. I didn't let it get to me as my energy swirled around me purifying the air nearest me. I saw the smirk on his face drop as he growled once again. I remember him shouting at me 'Where the hell did you get this power Wench!' After that things begin to blur a bit and the next thing I know, my sword was flung from my hand, Naraku feet from me. It had seemed as though the world itself had stopped just to watch what would happen next. In the distant I could here the shouts of Inuyasha, the cries of Shippo and Rin and Sango's scream as the watched me stare death in the face.

What happened next was nothing short of a miracle. I died. I remember it clear as day, and every time, it sends a chill straight through me. I remember as Naraku loomed over me, his clawed hands jutting out from the other side of my chest. Tentacles wrapped around my legs and arms to prevent me from escaping. As the edges of my eyes began to darken and I remember seeing him pluck the rest of my jewel from my neck, I also remember asking whoever would listen, 'Is this really it, I didn't even get a chance to make it right. If this is it, then I welcome you Death, you've been waiting and now, you've got me, I just wish my friends could get their happy endings even if I don't.' That was the last thing I recall in those last seconds before everything went blank. Not black, just blank. I seemed to drift for what seemed like forever but it might as well have been twenty seconds before a soft purple glow started to shine up ahead. I stopped in one spot and formed itself into a door. It was strange, why would I need a door if I was dead. I remember opening it and all the blank of the world I had just been in melted away into the form a thick grassy field overflowing with blooming buds. There was a woman sitting in the middle. I remember she had long blond hair and she wore very old looking westerner style dress. It was a dark purple that contrasted with her hair and it looked like something someone would wear for Halloween I stood silent for a few moments not wanting to disrupt this woman, but she turned to me slowly and I took in the heart shaped face as well as the warm chocolate eyes. 'Hello Kagome, I've been waiting for you to come by and see me, but I can wait a while longer, you came to me too early.' I had looked at her strangely, and she laughed softly at me patting the ground next to her. Even now I have the word she said to me engraved within my brain, I had a feeling that I would need them sooner or later.

I moved and sat next to her, and for a few minutes it was quiet, just the sounds of the wind brushing it's gentle hands across the soft carpeted earth. Then, she touched my hand. I had looked at her in surprise but she just smiled and held my gaze. 'My child, you don't know how happy I am to se you, but now's not the time fore you to be here.' It was those same words again and again I stored them in my mind. 'I'm glad you gave an unselfish request before you ended it up here though. That just proves your worthiness all the more.' I remember questioning her about my so called worthiness. 'My child, you are one of very few completely pure people. You have the power to do anything, you just haven't unlocked it yet. My child, your dying wish was the final test, and you passed with flying colors!' She had practically jumped on me hugging the life or should I say undead life out of me? I don't really know. But, anyway the woman let go after a few moments and watched as jets of purple light made their way across the sky. I remember he smile dropped slightly before she turned to me. 'Sweetheart, it's almost time for you to leave this place, but there're some things I need to tell you before you do. For starters you're only half priestess, albeit a strong one, but only half. Your other half, the side that come from my side of your ancestry is that of magic. There will be things that you will have to learn on your own but I can give you a head start.' She gave me a thick leather bound book which was so heavy and thick that I dropped it the first seconds that she let go of it. 'This will tell you almost everything you need to know, the rest you'll find out when you come of age.' The sky around us had turned completely purple and it had started to turn into a dusty cloud as it started to fade around us. 'Good luck Kagome, your going to need it when you get back out there. I'll be waiting, and in the mean time I think I'll have chat with Midoriko. I'm sure she'd find how funny it is that one of her ancestries got mistaken for her niece's reincarnations. Oh and one more thing. You'll have to journey to a town called Ipswitch in a couple years, you'll know when, there you will meet four young men, be nice to then, but also be weary things don't always appear as they should my child. Have fun with your wish.' I remembered thinking 'What wish?' before I became slacked-jawed as this beautiful woman got up and walked away fading along with the rest of the world as everything became enveloped in light.

It was black as I came to again, and I was instantly away of an ear piercing scream. The every sound chilled me to the bone and I'm sure If had known where my body was I'd have shuddered as well. My eyes locked onto another streak of purple light as I slowly began to walk towards it. The light grew into a small orb-like shape as I neared it. It pulsed outward and tiny vein like streak shot outward and continued to multiply as a got closer. Finally I was able to make out the orbish object as the complete Shikon no Tama. The question was where was I? I remember reaching outward and grasping the jewel, and it was like plummeting down to earth from high up in the clouds. My body felt as though it were being sucked through a straw and to be honest it had hurt quite a bit, but I stayed with it as the light of the jewel surrounded me and I was being pulled from the darkness. My body was literally being pulled from the dark confines of Naraku's soul. Deep black ebbs of energy ripped itself from his body as my luminescent shape drifted from it. And through it all the ear piecing scream became louder and more ragged.

I looked up at his face and our eyes locked before something warm burst within me and a wave of pale purple energy shot out like a tidal wave. The least thing I saw of Naraku was the heart wrenching fear I saw in his eyes before he turned to dust. I was alone as the clouds of Miasma cleared and I took in the scene around me. I had felt like crying at that point. So many beings demon and whatever else, lay dead, scattered, fading around the field. I searched for my friends and I found Miroku clutching the left side of his head, holding his staff, his eye s locked on my single form. Sango was clutching the dead body of her brother and a thick gash stretched across her upper torso, she too was looking dead at me, tears billowing down her cheeks. Shippo was clutching a bawling Rin while he was crying silently, Rin had her had down looking at her lap, but Shippo was looking at me as though he had died and gone to heaven. Inuyasha was kneeling not far off with Ayame over the body of Kouga, I winced slightly as Ayame cried her eyes out, Inuyasha just turned away from her his eyes snapping up to lock with mine. Sesshomaru stood not far from tem looking at me with and unreadable expression, and not far from him was Kanna clutching the body of Kagura close to her chest weeping nothings into her ear hoping to bring her back. There were other demons too, some I didn't know, some I did, all had stopped to look at me with battle worn faces.

I remember I cried, tears burning themselves into my face as I looked at the disaster around me. I looked down at my hand and clutched the jewel close to my chest, but cried out in alarm as it melted through my clothes and into my body. I clutched and grabbed at my chest hoping that it would come back out, hoping that I could bring my friends back, hoping that they could get their wishes. But it was gone beneath my skin, leaving not a trace of anything. I looked up at my friends and cried harder. I remember thinking I had failed them. I had lost the jewel, and nothing could bring it back.

But then the extraordinary happened. Bright pink and purple streaks shot from my body in all directions, heading for my friends. A huge warmth spread through me and a soft voice echoed through my head. 'You did well my child, just as I knew you would.' I watched as each streak surrounded my friends and they all turned to look at me all of them. It was quiet for a few moments before I heard a cry from Sango. I looked over to see Kohaku opening his eyes, they stared at each other for a few moments before he leapt up and hugged his sister for the life of him. Miroku was next, after having his wind tunnel close after Naraku died I wasn't really sure what he wanted but that became clear as a slightly old scruffy man with shaggy black hair in monk robes faded in next to him. Now, side by side, I saw the resemblance between the two men and I smiled as the engulfed each other in a manly sort of hug. Next was Rin I think, I smiled as I watched her auburn brow hair turn a striking silver, and her ears pointed slightly. Deep Magenta strips formed along her cheekbones and a sea blue crescent moon formed on her forehead. She turned and squeezed the closest person to her, which happened to be poor Shippo. My dear Shippo, I knew what he asked for before I even looked at him. There was a gentle current of wind-blown leaves that twisted and turned until they formed the body of a tall strong looking man with pointed ears and huge bushy fox tails swaying behind him. He looked down at the two children before him and picked the both up spinning them around. I then turned to Ayame and Inuyasha. Inuyasha's wish surprised me the most seeing as I didn't expect it. His ears disappeared as well as his claws and fangs and his hair tuned from silver to black, his eyes turning a warm chocolate. He looked at me an nodded slowly and I had smiled. He had turned human instead of his full demon desire. I was proud of him. I then looked at Ayame who cried into Kouga's body as he reached up and stroked her cheek lovingly. Next was Sesshomaru, who's wish had pretty much shocked us all. It was quiet for a few moments before a huge roar erupted around us and a huge silver dog burst through the trees towards the right of us. There was a huge crescent moon on it's forehead and much like his own Magenta stripes adorned the muzzle of the dog. There was a woman resting on the back of the dog and suddenly I knew where Sesshomaru got his feminine looks from. This woman was absolutely gorgeous, her silver hair spilled over her shoulders and warm green eyes stared down at us ass. She whispered something to the huge best and it began to shrink until it was just a few inches taller than Sesshomaru. I finally got a vivid picture Of Inutashio. His long white hair was tied back in a high ponytail, and thick bony armor adorned his body. A thick pelt draping over his shoulder and there was a sword strapped to his waist. Father and son looked at each other before Sesshomaru was rounded up into a one sided hug. This caused me to giggle slightly and everyone's attention was once again drawn to me. I shushed them and pointed out that we still had one more person to make a wish. We all turned to look a Kanna, whose skin began to turn from a pasty white, to a creamy peach. Her hair went from white to blonde, and her eyes turned a nice pale blue. In a way her wish was the same as Inuyasha's as she became human. She looked down at Kagura sadly for a few moments before she laid her down gently and started making her way over to me. She stopped a few feet short as I myself began to glow. I quirked an eyebrow. Hadn't I already made a wish? Apparently not. I looked over curiously as a form faded in next to me. At first I thought I was looking at myself but then I realized the form of Kikyo, as she completely formed. I smiled to myself as I figured it out. This was what I wanted. I wanted her to be just as happy. I had found out a long time ago that I was only pining after Inuyasha, it wasn't a real love. I had placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled at her. 'Make him happy.' She looked at me like hell had just frozen over before she snapped her gaze over to a now human Inuyasha. She looked back at me and I nodded. She said a quiet thank you before she ran into his arms, both of them hugging fiercely.

I smiled gently and made a move to take a step forward but my foot collided with something hard, I looked down to see the book that the blond haired woman had given me. I bent down and picked it up, swiping off the dirt. I think it hummed in my hand before I felt warm and tingly again. I looked up at my friends as I heard a gasp. I looked at them confused and Sango pointed to my body. I looked down to see myself fading. I remember shouting to whoever would listen 'No, No! I don't want to go!' But ui had continued to fade. I looked over at my friends as fresh hot tears fell down my cheeks, and a few fell down theirs as well. Shippo and Rin bawled into Shippo's father's tunic, Sango clutched her brother, Ayame clutched Kouga who was tearing up, and Kikyo smiled sadly at me as she buried her head into Inuyasha's chest. I looked over at the sound of footsteps, and my eyes locked onto Kanna's She grabbed my hand. 'I have nothing else, let me go with you.' I remember her speaking to me and I clutched her hand for the life of me, if I had to leave, I would at least make this little girl happy.

'Goodbye everyone, I'll miss you, and for those who will live to see me, I want you to find me someday, I'll never forget you.' I wasn't until after that, that me and Kanna faded out of the Feudal Era. Never to Return. That was three years ago, and now I would be turning eighteen in a few months. I felt now, more than ever that it was time to go to Ipswitch. Of course I wouldn't be going alone though, I would be bringing Kanna, who had just turned ten. I had nothing short of adopted her as soon as we had faded home. I couldn't bring myself to let her go.

In a few hours I will be on my way to a shrine in Ipswitch, where I would live to do whatever that beautiful woman wanted me to do. This was my next job, and I was willing to do it.


End file.
